This is a bit “off topic” from where we usually focus Reader Requests posts, but reader Suzi asked a great question that I’m guessing we’d all love to give and hear recommendations for! Suzi said…
As a Christmas family tradition we tour the city at night looking at the Christmas lights. We like to go out for hot chocolate afterwards for a family treat. We spent years going to Michele’s Candy Shop downtown and now that is gone. 
So we are looking for a new family-friendly, but quaint place to go for our hot chocolate. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Well, I’ve got a great little coffee house to recommend, and I’m sure you can think of a few, too. Let’s share our favorite coffee shops and the like in the comments! And since you all know we like a deal, make sure you share about any specials or coupons for the establishments you’re recommending if you know of any!
Previous post: Bed Bath and Beyond: do they accept competitor coupons?
Next post: Whole Foods weekly deals: December 2-15
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Jeremy and I love Agia Sophia Coffee House in OCC: http://www.agiasophiacoffeeshop.com/
It’s in the original (?) OCC city hall and has great atmosphere and yummy drinks. They do French press and the coffe is very smooth. Of course, it’s the opposite of hot chocolate, but their cold drinks come in a tall glass that’s fun to drink out of.
R & R Coffee Shop in Black Forest is FANTASTIC!! Very family-friendly quaint, and fun!!
I brought the kids into Keva Juice @ Union & Research beside Albertson’s and they now serve coffee, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate. I had a white chocolate peppermint mocha while the kids enjoyed their smoothies. It was fantastic and much cheaper than Starbucks or other coffee shops I have been to. Girl told me to come in on 12 Dec and they are serving $2.00 lattes.
The month of December is buy one get one free on hot chocolate @ Keva. Just mention this ad: http://www.kevacoffee.com/promotions.html
Ravens Nest off of Institute and Boulder is close to downtown and very family friendly. I think they have a BOGO coupon in the Entertainment Book.
I sing in the Glen Eyrie Madrigal every year, and the guy who’s in charge of running the program also owns Montagues off of Nevada and Las Vegas … I think. It is quaint and cozy little place with antique couches and chairs. They have pastries, sandwiches, soups, teas, coffees, and hot cocoa, of course! If you have a large family or lots of little tots, this may not be as enjoyable for you, but 6 and older would certainly appreciate it … Or a hot date!
One year, though, it got pretty late and we just stopped in at Applebee’s! Wasn’t as awesome, but it certainly was convenient!
Pioneers Museum will be handing out FREE cocoa and cookies during the parade (which starts at 5:50PM), after their FREE event for children. Here is the info from their website.
Children’s Holiday Magic
Saturday, Dec 5 10:00a to 4:00p
at Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, Colorado Springs, CO
The Museum will be hosting its annual Children’s Holiday Magic celebration on Saturday, December 5th. There will be ornament creation, a magic show, balloon animals, carolers, letters to Santa, and more! Letters to Santa will also be accepted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After the Museum closes, look for Museum staff handing out free hot cocoa and cookies during the Festival of Lights parade.
These are awesome suggestions, you guys! I’m hoping to try some of these soon!
Why not make your own hot cocoaThen bring a thermos, mugs and marshmallows to the look out point in Palmer Park, and take in the view of even more lights! Thrifty on the pocket book too, AND no one cares if the kids run around and singing holiday songs at the top of their lungs.
We love Poor Richards, they have an awesome hot white chocolate served in huge mugs, I mean these mugs are huge, two people can easily share one comfortably. And it’s in the same area as the parade too.
I have to respectfully disagree with Thesa. I had the cocoa at Montague’s once, and it was just awful. I was there meeting some people and we stayed quite a while…after about an hour, one of the other people got a hot cocoa, took a sip and said to me, ‘Oh, now I know why you aren’t drinking that – it’s horrid!’ So…it wasn’t just me.
Sorry.
We just make our own at home now, and take it along.
I second the vote for Poor Richard’s! Their coffee and wine bar is spectacular and they have great hot chocolate: http://www.poorrichards.biz/Ricos_Coffee_and_Wine_Bar.html It’s locally-owned and you can browse around for holiday gifts and cards or just people watch. I don’t work for them; I just love that place.
I happen to like Montague’s hot chocolate but I love Border’s more (especially when pregnant). They top it with whipped cream, chocolate flakes and a stick of chocolate.
A little late jumping into this discussion, but I can’t resist because I am a coffee shop nerd. Agia does have great drinks; however, I don’t think they are particularly kid-friendly. (Tends to be a rather quiet, studious atmosphere.) Plus, the proceeds from Agia go to the Dale House, a half-way house for troubled teens. (Its always nice to have an altruistic excuse for spending far too much money on a foofoo espresso drink.) Ricos does have especially good hot chocolate–I would especially recommend the spicy aztec hot chocolate. While the wine bar tends to be more of a date spot, you can order your drinks from the Poor Richard’s side, which is much more informal and relaxed. If you are looking for a purely kid-friend option, Dog Tooth Cafe has decent drinks and might be a safe bet, although their hours are short. If you are on the north side, Jovis is very kid friendly, I think, and has some creative items. I hope this helps!!!
If you want a reason to visit the Broadmoor that won’t cost more than a week’s (or a month’s!) food budget – the newsstand, downstairs, to the left if you go in the main entrance, has excellent hot chocolate. The small (I think it is about 12 oz.) was $2.50 and the large (probably about 20 oz.) was $2.90. I think that large could be split among several children and, it being the Broadmoor, I can’t imagine them not giving you a few cups to use. This is especially worth doing while they have their gingerbread houses on display upstairs in the main lobby – I’ve never seen a kid not get excited or an adult not turn into a little kid while looking at these. They are just on the left side of the escalator as you go up. The place is beautiful anyway, and the Christmas decorations are lovely, too.
Also, about parking: I’ve heard that there is a parking lot that you can pay to use, but I’ve never used it. The valet parking is technically free, but I’d feel really yucky not leaving a tip. Because my car is such an old beater, I’d feel pretty yucky just asking someone else to drive it. So I sidestep the whole issue by continuing three-quarters of the way through the last traffic-circle/round-about before the Broadmoor’s gate and parking a couple of blocks down the street. If you do this, you can walk through what I think is the employee parking lot and approach from the south. Then the newsstand is through a souvenir shop, on your left, before you get to the check-in area.